Clean Coal-Fired Power Project Development Continues to Increase as Power Plant Contractors Pick Optimum Technology Elements

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). With energy efficiencies of 55% on the horizon for coal-fired power generating turbines and the use of super alloys in key areas of units looking at steam temperatures of over 700C, the clean power from coal thrust is based on necessity's being the mother of invention. Coal will be the feedstock of much of global baseload power generation for some decades to come, and in the developed economies, the battle to balance maximum energy efficiency from the fuel with minimum harmful emissions is ongoing, backed by major investment in research and development and in fast-tracking the commissioning new-technology commercial plants.

The use of recycled industrial waste as fuel, new processes to treat lignite and brown coal feedstock, and the high world demand for coking coal in the steel industry are all parts of a pressured circle of demand and innovation.

The improved qualities of steel used in the power generation process, improved water/steam cycles based on better materials, improved turbine bladings, higher boiler efficiencies, and reduced internal consumption due to improved components and reduced parasitic losses, such as pressure drops, all contribute to clean coal power advances, says the European research study group coordinated by Elsam in Denmark.

Organizers of the Clean Coal Technology (CCT) conference in the U.S. point out that more new coal-fired generation projects have been announced in the past twelve months than in the previous twelve years. Almost one-third of those capacity additions are slated for the western U.S., with more than 75% being proposed at greenfield sites, where there are no existing power generation plants.

Industrialinfo.com is tracking more than 400 projects involving capital and/or maintenance expenditures at coal-fired power plants in the U.S. alone. These projects represent greater than $30 billion in total investment value (TIV), and are scheduled to begin construction in 2005. Nineteen of these projects, representing more than 50% of the TIV are for grassroot coal-fired power plants or unit additions.

Click on the image at right to view the 2005 Coal-Fired Power Plant Project Spending by State Graph.

The U.S. government and the DOE, with industry partners, are working on the $1 billion Futuregen project to create the world's first zero-emissions fossil fuel plant. The ten-year project will employ coal gasification technology integrated with combined-cycle electricity generation, hydrogen production, and the sequestration of carbon dioxide emissions. Under the government's $2 billion clean coal research initiative eight projects have been announced in 2004 with a total investment of $1.3 billion. For related news item see June 19, 2003 - Futuregen Alliance to Pioneer New Coal Energy and Sequestration Frontier with $1 Billion DOE Partnership.

Principal owner/contractors in the power generation industry are focusing on the ability of suppliers to provide optimum performance elements such as that received by Thermal Engineering International (TEi) (Santa Fe Springs, California) from Siemens Power Generation (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) for the design and supply of feedwater heaters for the Kogans Creek power station in Queensland, Australia.

The owners, CS Energy (Brisbane, Australia), claim that the 750 MW supercritical plant will be the most advanced power station in Australia. Supercritical power generation is 3% to 5% more efficient in energy conversion than conventional techniques and therefore produces lower emissions per unit of electrical output. TEi's scope includes the design and fabrication of four low-pressure feedwater heaters, two high-pressure feedwater heaters, and an external drain cooler. The feedwater heaters will raise the boiler feedwater temperature in stages to improve overall plant efficiency prior to its entering the boiler and the steam turbine cycle. TEi, a subsidiary of Babcock Power Incorporated (Danvers, Massachusetts), will manufacture the high-pressure heaters, among the largest and heaviest built in the U.S., at Sapulpa, Oklahoma.

In another specialized boiler contract, Alstom (OTC:AASTF) (Paris, France) will install Brazil's first circulating fluidized bed boilers (CFB) for the Alunorte $600 million aluminum Expansion 2 project. Benefits will include operation efficiencies, low emissions and fuel flexibility. Each boiler will generate 250 tons per hour of low-pressure steam for the alumina refinery. The design allows for future conversion to high-pressure steam for a power generation turbine unit. Coal will be the primary fuel, with oil as a back up. Alstom will also supply electrical equipment, stack, baghouse, feed pumps, deaerator and oil storage and pumping systems. Over 75% of the project will be manufactured in Brazil and Alunorte will erect the boilers.

View Project Report - 86000105

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